Participants head out for the Great Ponte Vedra Paddle Monday, September 2, 2013 at Mickler's Landing in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The race benefits HEAL, (Healing Every Autistic Life). (The Florida Times-Union, Will Dickey)

Participants head out for the Great Ponte Vedra Paddle on Sept. 2, 2013, at Mickler's Landing in Ponte Vedra Beach.

The Great Ponte Vedra Paddle attracts two kinds of competitors: the serious, and the not-so-serious.

The first category is made up largely of stand-up paddleboarders with enough skill and endurance to compete in a 1-, 3- or 5-mile race.

In the second category are the people there purely for the fun of it. Encouraged by the relaxed rules of the “Anything That Floats” challenge, they show up in crazy costumes, or use an inner tube or floating lounge chair instead of a paddleboard.

Whatever their level of ambition, participants are helping the HEAL Foundation. All proceeds from the event go to the local nonprofit serving children and adults with autism, a neural development disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others.

This is the third year for The Great Ponte Vedra Paddle, which takes place on Labor Day on the beach at Mickler’s Landing. Last year, it brought out more than 225 participants and 500 spectators, said Dana Current, the event’s founder.

He was hoping to capitalize on the growing popularity of paddleboarding when he created the event, he said, but he wanted to offer something that was family-friendly and fun as well.

That came in the form of “Anything That Floats,” where dressing up and alternative forms of water transportation are encouraged, and the funniest costume and most creative float win prizes. In 2012, Current said, you could look out on the Atlantic and see a group of teenage boys dressed like ballerinas, and kids kayaking in football uniforms and helmets.

“It’s really just a floating parade,” he said, and an excuse to splash around in the water with friends for a quarter mile.

Lisa McMahan of Ponte Vedra Beach expects to be part of the parade for the third year in row, along with her 11-year-old twin boys, Carter and Keifer Pruett, who have autism.

“Anything That Floats” is one reason they keep coming back.

“You just go out there and float and have fun,” she said. “It’s a great family event.”

Last year, McMahan competed in the 3-mile race by herself and the 1-mile sprint with her sons, who paddled on surfboards. She ended the day by joining them for the Anything That Floats challenge, which she described as “kind of like dessert” in comparison. She has similar plans this year.

“It’s what we do every Labor Day,” she said. “We look forward to it.”

For McMahan — who turned 50 this year and got a new paddleboard as a present — paddleboarding is “an excellent way to keep in shape.” She also plays tennis and golf.

For her sons, being part of The Great Ponte Vedra Paddle “makes them feel special,” McMahan said. “They almost feel like it’s a celebration honoring them, there is such a sense of community.”

‘THE RIGHT MIX’

Current was motivated by a sense of community when he created the event.

The longtime Ponte Vedra resident said the town had nothing to rally around on a big holiday — no Fourth of July fireworks, no Christmas festival — and Labor Day was wide open.

The concept for The Great Ponte Vedra Paddle came out of a family discussion about philanthropy.

Both children involved were surfers, and the idea evolved from a charity surfing contest to one that involved paddleboarding, a sport that was quickly growing in popularity.

“We want to make it a community-wide event that would give people who were visiting from out of town something to do as well,” he said.

Current had just joined the board of the HEAL Foundation when he proposed the idea as a fundraiser for the group. They got behind it immediately, and the event has raised more than $60,000 for HEAL in its first two years.

“We got the right mix for potentially making this a big annual event,” he said. “Stand-up paddleboarding is really taking off, and anybody can do it, from kids to seniors. And people like to help out a good cause.”

Mother Nature has been extremely cooperative so far with sunny skies and a calm Atlantic.

“For the past two years, the water has been like a lake,” Current said. “It’s been perfect. It’s what I call, for lack of a better phrase, ‘chamber of commerce’ weather.”

In the event of rain or high surf, The Great Ponte Paddle will be rescheduled for Sunday, Sept. 7.